Tag Archives: Blackburn Rovers

West Bromwich Albion vs Blackburn Rovers

Posted on by

Today’s featured game is the English Premier League encounter between West Bromwich Albion and Blackburn Rovers. Along with about half of the division currently, both of today’s sides are battling against relegation with both sides level on twenty-two points apiece just six points clear of the drop zone so both need to be vigilant in this game.

A gap of fifteen days without a competitive game burned West Brom’s display visibly in their defeat at Bolton at weekend as they suffered a 2-0 loss. The result was a little harsh on the Midlands outfit as they wasted chance after chance and deserved at least a draw from the game. Surprisingly, it was striker Peter Odemwingie who looked the most rusty West Brom player as he was guilty of missing a plethora of chances despite being arguably the club’s revelation of the season. His ability to get into the right positions was still very much visible, however, so he should remain a potent threat for the Baggies tonight. Although West Brom miss Brunt through suspension for this game, they do have Thomas to assist Odemwingie’s atypical lone assault so West Brom still have enough firepower to win this game, in my opinion. West Brom play some good, attractive football and that always makes them a dangerous side to play against. Di Matteo’s boys have had their mini wake-up call by losing at Bolton; it’s time to see what they’re made of, starting today.

Helpfully, they’re facing a disjointed Blackburn Rovers side that frankly anyone would be happy to face currently due to the ridiculous state that the club’s owners have put them in. Bizarrely, they sacked Sam Allardyce and simply appointed his assistant manager as caretaker boss for the rest of the season, which doesn’t make any sense. In all honesty, without Allardyce at the helm, I genuinely feel Blackburn have a very good chance of being relegated. They don’t have the firepower to play average Premier League tactics – they have to play a physical game and few managers can successfully do it and Blackburn have sacked one of the few who knows how to do it! Blackburn were absolutely dreadful at home to poor-travelling Stoke City at weekend, deservedly losing 0-2 in a game of few chances but a game which saw only one side trying to win the game – Stoke. Stoke capitalised on poor Blackburn defending but Blackburn’s biggest issue was that for the entire game, they created no more than one or two half-chances at best. If they intend to play a similar game against West Brom today then they’re going to get beat because there aren’t many sides to have kept West Brom out this season – Manchester United and Arsenal certainly haven’t – so Blackburn have an uphill task ahead of them today. Samba is available for Blackburn again but will he be fielded after stating that he wanetd to move on after the sacking of Allardyce? Diouf’s available again too (the one that’s a bell-end, not the one on loan from Manchester United) but he’s not really what Blackburn need at the moment. Blackburn haven’t been a good away side in the Premier League for many years now and this season is no exception with six defeats in nine away games, conceding over two goals per away game on average. With morale low and a real lack of experience on the leadership front, you have to feel that Blackburn are really going to struggle today against a strong host and I ultimately envision Blackburn losing here.

Obviously the above does mean that West Brom have to convert their chances in this game but in general they create so many that they really should score at least once today. West Brom will smell blood on a nervous Blackburn team and will attack in their usual manner so I really fancy them here. Blackburn’s forté hasn’t been goalscoring since the days of Alan Shearer so we know what to expect from them today. The problem is for Blackburn is that I don’t see how they’ll come back into this game if they fall behind, which I think they will. If they abandon their defensive shape and attempt to play football with West Brom then they’ll lose. If they defend throughout then they might get a draw but I doubt it with no experience at the helm. Therefore, for me, the home win at evens represents tremendous value today.

Team news – West Brom miss Brunt for this game.

Verdict: West Bromwich Albion to win at evens – why not bet on this game now at Bwin?

Tuesday’s Picks

My tips:

As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:

Norwich City vs Sheffield United – home win at 4/5.

Although I’d always encourage caution when betting on such an unstable league whereby anyone can beat anyone, I have to take Norwich to win this game.

Norwich aren’t as good as the Championship table portrays them to be but they’re still decent value, especially with lanky target man Grant Holt in attack. The reason that Norwich aren’t good enough to be where they are, in my opinion, is their fairly inept defence, which concedes on a pretty regular basis. Nonetheless, I like the belief that Lambert has instilled at the club since his arrival and Norwich look better for it, especially in attack. They won at Coventry in their last game, which is a pretty difficult thing to do in this division, so they do bring some good momentum into this game. Indeed, they’ve also had a nice break in between that game and this one with their tie against Crystal Palace having been postponed whereas opponents Sheffield United played just two days ago. Norwich are missing important defender Barnett but with Sheffield United being virtually non-existant in attack, I’m going to overlook his absence for this game and focus on Norwich’s decent attack as that should be more relevant for this game anyway.

Sheffield United are in a bad way; it can’t really be ignored. They finally appointed Speed as their new manager and have now lost him to the Welsh national team so they’re technically managerless for this game. They’ve also got big problems with scoring goals as the fact that only Middlesbrough have scored less goals away from home than they have in the Championship this season indicates all too well. Their defending is usually solid on the road but averaging scoring approximately 0.5 goals per away game is going to ensure that you lose more away games than you win and Sheffield United do have that record, unsurprisingly! They showed some spirit at weekend by coming from behind against Hull City but still managed to throw it away due to a lack of concentration. Indeed, concentration appears to be another issue for Sheffield United as well as goalscoring so they’re really not in the best shape ahead of their trip to Norwich. Sheffield United have now lost three out of their last five away games with their sole victory being a 0-1 win at Millwall, which isn’t exactly groundbreaking. For me, the visitors are a bit like headless chickens at the moment and if that’s the case then their defence will suffer and if that happens then Sheffield United are sitting ducks as their attack can’t compete with most in this division.

Therefore, with the above in mind, I have to take a serious look at the home win at 4/5. Norwich can’t defend but they’ve been handed a lifeline as Sheffield United can’t attack. I think that whatever happens here, Norwich City will outscore Sheffield United, which obviously would leave them winning the game. Therefore, my call is the home win at decent odds.

Team news – Norwich miss Barnett and have doubts over Martin and Hoolahan whereas Sheff Utd miss France, Henderson, and Wright.

Verdict: Norwich City to win at 4/5.

Accumulator fodder:

Sunderland, Manchester United, Burnley.

Recommended bets:

Sunderland, Manchester United, and West Bromwich Albion at 4/1.

As ever, if there are any questions/explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts to prevent endless questions about my thoughts on certain games!

International Friendlies:

Saudi Arabia vs Iraq (6) 2-1
Jordan vs Bahrain (6) 0-0
Qatar vs Iran (5) both sides to score

English Premier League:

Manchester City vs Aston Villa (7) 2-1
Stoke City vs Fulham (6) under 2.5 goals
Sunderland vs Blackpool (8) over 2.5 goals
Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle United (7) over 2.5 goals
West Bromwich Albion vs Blackburn Rovers (7) 2-0
West Ham United vs Everton (6) 1-1
Birmingham City vs Manchester United (8) under 2.5 goals

English Championship:

Coventry City vs Queens Park Rangers (6) both sides to score
Bristol City vs Crystal Palace (4)
Leeds United vs Portsmouth (5) over 2.5 goals, both sides to score
Norwich City vs Sheffield United (7)
Burnley vs Scunthorpe United (8)
Watford vs Cardiff City (6) over 2.5 goals
Millwall vs Leicester City (5)
Swansea City vs Barnsley (6) under 2.5 goals
Hull City vs Reading (6) over 2.5 goals
Preston North End vs Middlesbrough (7)

English League One:

Milton Keynes Dons vs Bournemouth (6)
Plymouth Argyle vs Notts County (6)
Southampton vs Huddersfield Town (6)
Swindon Town vs Peterborough United (5) both sides to score

English League Two:

Barnet vs Stockport County (5)
Cheltenham Town vs Bradford City (6)
Gillingham vs Port Vale (6)
Lincoln City vs Shrewsbury Town (4)
Oxford United vs Macclesfield Town (5)

Enjoy your free betting tips!

Ancona vs Piacenza

Posted on by

Today’s featured game is the Serie B encounter between Ancona and Piacenza. Having just managed to stay in Serie B last year, Ancona have set about making their home ground a fortress once more in an attempt to prolong their life in Serie B yet again. Only four Serie B sides won more home games than Ancona last year and two of those sides were promoted to Serie A! Ancona have also been working on winning away from home, which was their Achilles heel last season. This season, however, they’ve won two away games already, which is impressive when you consider that they only won three away games in the entirety of last season. Nobody lost more away games than Ancona last season so it was more than apparent that they needed to address it instantaneously – and they have. In this campaign, Ancona have actually been one of the more impressive sides thus far, winning six games in ten. They’re unbeaten in their last four games and have won three of those games too. Ancona are one of just two sides in Serie B that have won every home game so far this season, along with Empoli. Ancona average over two goals per game and have conceded just once at home all season. To put it bluntly; Ancona have looked very good this year, almost a changed side from last year. Visitors Piacenza are having a torrid campaign thus far, however. They’ve won just two games from the ten they’ve competed in so far and have lost four in their last three games. Piacenza are without a win in their past five games now so morale is low and they’re severely lacking in momentum. Although Piacenza’s away form isn’t amongst the worst in the league (played five, won one, drawn two, lost two), their recent form suggests that they’re going to play right into in-form Ancona’s hands, particularly as Piacenza are finding goals hard to come by themselves. To be frank, the odds of 5/6 on this game are something of a gift so I had to delve further and assitain just why those odds were available. The only reasoning I’ve managed to locate is that Ancona didn’t manage to score against or even take a point off Piacenza last season. Whereas it’s worth taking note of that statistic, I still feel everything points to a home win tonight so 5/6 on the home win is my undisputed pick of the day!

Tuesday’s Picks

My tips:

As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:

Ancona vs Piacenza – home win at 5/6 – see introduction for full details.

Barnsley vs Manchester United - lay Manchester United at 17/10.  I don’t like betting against my side but this game is competed in the shitty Carling Cup, a trophy that isn’t widely sought after by…well, anyone, really! Manchester United will undoubtedly be fielding their impressive youngsters and a few first-team players needing match fitness i.e. Fletcher, Brown. Manchester United’s kids are very talented, there’s no doubt about that. However, this is a rather large test for them for various reasons. This trip is to Yorkshire on an Autumn night with the hosts boasting tenacious and rejuvenated football under former Manchester United striker Mark Robins. Robins has guided Barnsley to five vicories in all competitions since taking over in September, an impressive amount considering the prediacment the club were in when he took over. Within that list of victories lies wins against Burnley in this competition and West Bromwich Albion in the Championship, two very impressive results indeed. Barnsley are a very resilient side, as indeed are most Yorkshire outfits, and this game will not be easy for Manchester United’s youngsters. Barnsley have a history of being a hard side to play against as Chelsea can testify after they exited the FA Cup against Barnsley last season, a game which like tonight’s game was also played at Oakwell. Barnsley also won at Anfield 2-1 in the same competition and were only prevented from reaching the FA Cup final by a plucky Cardiff City. Suffice to say that Barnsley enjoy their cup games! Mark Robins will have a point to prove against his former club, as all former Manchester United players do, such is their desire to win trophies. I’m expecting a close and low-scoring game and although it could go either way, I think a draw is on the cards so laying Manchester United at 17/10 could prove to be good value tonight.

Strasbourg vs Tours – home win at evens. Now unbeaten in four games, Strasbourg are finally beginning to get their season back on track. They’ve only one won of those four games but their general performances are getting better too. I’d argue the case that there’s not many other sides in Ligue 2 that are better to play against at home than Tours at the moment given that they’ve not won in four games and are generally poor travellers, something that has been proven over the past few years rather convincingly. Tours haven’t won any of their five away games yet this season, to further my point, and generally struggle to score goals away from home. Strasbourg boast a better side; it’s simply a matter of time as to when they start winning games consistently. For me, that time could be tonight against a Tours side that are unable to do anything but draw and lose currently. Although I expect a close game, there could well be some good value in the home win at evens.

Empoli vs Triestina – home win at 3/4. Unbeaten in four games now, Empoli are looking very promising ahead of this game with Triestina, particularly as Empoli have won five out of five home games so far this season. Empoli average scoring three goals per game at home and generally tend to blow any opponents away when playing at home. Although Triestina are unbeaten in their last two games, the fact remains that they’ve lost three from five away games and have only managed to score two goals away from home all season. If you’re poor at goalscoring and you’re going away to play against a side that have virtually mastered the art of goalscoring then you have to feel that a home win is looking very likely indeed. Empoli won this game 4-0 last season and I wouldn’t be surprised to see that scoreline again, to be honest. Not only is 3/4 great odds on the home win but it may also be worth taking a -1.75 handicap in light of the above information.

Lecce vs Reggina - home win at 5/4. Although having started life in Serie B somewhat slowly, Lecce have since won four from their last five games. They’ve won three from five home games and although they’re not scoring goals in a free-flowing manner, they’re still looking ruthlessly efficient in their bid to regain their Serie A status. Although both of these two sides were in Serie A last season, only Lecce are looking likely to be back in it next season. Indeed, given Reggina’s current problems, it looks more likely that they’ll be in Serie C rather than Serie A if they indeed do leave Serie B. Reggina have lost three consecutive games now, which takes their tally of defeats to five from ten games. They’ve won just two games out of those ten and are looking woeful in front of goal with just seven goals scored along the way. Although there’s not an awful lot of quality difference between these two sides, home advantage and momentum should be key here so I expect Lecce to win this game at surprising odds of 5/4.

Lastly, I don’t often recommend combinations because generally it’s up to yourselves to generate your own luck. However, I do really like the look of a 4-team Serie B accumulator of home wins containing Empoli, Ancona, Lecce, and Brescia at impressive odds of 11/1 – give it some thought!

As ever, any questions/explanations required, feel free to email me at thefootytipster@gmail.com. For the complete picks listing, see below!

Baltic League:

Levadia Tallinn vs FK Taurus Taurage (7) 2-1
Ekranas Panevezys vs FK Jurmala (8) 3-1
Flora Tallinn vs FK Siauliai (5) 1-1

Argentinian Primera Division:

Newell’s Old Boys vs Racing Club Avellaneda (8) 2-0
Atletico Tucuman vs Velez Sarsfeld (6) 0-1

English League One:

Bristol Rovers vs Leeds United (7)

English League Cup:

Barnsley vs Manchester United (4) 1-1
Sunderland vs Aston Villa (6) 0-0
Portsmouth vs Stoke City (5) 1-2
Blackburn Rovers vs Peterborough United (6) 1-1
Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton (7) 2-0

French Ligue 2:

AC Ajaccio vs Nimes (6)
Angers SCO vs Brest (5)
Arles vs Dijon FCO (6)
Chateauroux vs Metz (8)
Clermont Foot vs Istres (7)
Sedan-Ardennes vs Bastia (7)
Stade Malherbe de Caen vs Vannes OC (9)
Nantes vs Laval (8)
Strasbourg vs Tours (6)

Italian Serie B:

Ancona vs Piacenza (8)
Brescia vs Gallipoli (8)
Empoli vs Triestina (8)
Lecce vs Reggina (7)

Portuguese Liga Sagres:

Vitoria Guimaraes vs Sporting Clube de Lisboa (7) under 2.5 goals

Singaporean S-League:

Balestier Khalsa vs Gombak United (7) 1-2
Tampines Rovers vs Albirex Niigate (8) 2-0

Swedish Allsvenskan:

IFK Goteborg vs Halmstads (9) 2-0
Kalmar vs Malmo (6) 2-1

Uruguayan Primera Division:

Cerro Largo vs Racing Club Montevideo (5) 1-1
Danubio vs Atenas (8) 2-0
Tacuarembo vs Defensor Sporting (6) 1-2
Penarol vs Rampla Juniors (8) 2-1

Enjoy your free betting tips!